CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
Ned Davis, when he came down from aloft, had taken his post again nearhis beloved commander. "I am a good swimmer," he said to himself, "andI will do my best to save the captain. If I fail I will perish withhim." Such were the thoughts which passed through his mind, as the mostcritical moment of all had arrived. Nearer and nearer the corvette drewtowards the rocks. Now they appeared broad on the lee-bow--now theywere right abeam--and at length many a bold seaman drew his breath morefreely as they were seen over the quarter. The danger was passed. Thebeautiful little ship flew on, breasting bravely the foaming billows.At length she had clear room once more to make a tack. She came aboutbefore it might have been expected, crippled as she was, and now withher courses hauled up she stood out to sea.
"Pipe below," cried the captain, leaving the weather side of the poop,where he had stood since the ship had first got under weigh. "Keep hersouth-west, Mr Matson," he observed, as he retired to his cabin; "andcall me on deck should any change take place in the weather."
It would be difficult to describe the feelings of those on shore who hadwatched for so long the manoeuvres of the corvette as she worked her wayout of the bay. Often Lady Nora lifted up her hands as if praying toHeaven for the safety of those on board. Each time, too the shipapproached the dangerous reef, with the character of which she was sowell acquainted, her cheek turned paler than usual, and her bated breathshowed the agitation of her feelings.
Yet, did she love the young commander of the corvette? She wouldscarcely have acknowledged thus much to herself. He had not declaredhis affection, and yet she felt almost sure that he was truly attachedto her.
"I must remember that he was poor Barry's friend," she said to herself;"yet Barry did not pretend to know to what family he belonged; indeed,he would never tell us how he first became acquainted with him. Thatwas very strange, for as often as I put the question he evaded it, andreplied, `I value him for himself, for the noble qualities he possesses,and not for what he may possibly have been.' On board ship we thinkonly of our rank in the service, and what sort of fellow a man showshimself to be by his conduct. So Nora do not say anything more aboutthe matter."
At length, when the corvette, as far as she was able to judge in thethick gathering gloom of night, seemed to be clear of the land, Noracould not refrain from giving vent to her pent-up feelings in tears,while a prayer of thankfulness went up from her heart to Heaven.
Some time passed before she entirely recovered from the effects of thefearful danger in which she had been placed. She looked forward, dayafter day, for the return of the corvette, but in vain. She eagerlyexamined the newspapers, but none of them mentioned the _Ariadne_. Shemight still be on the coast of Ireland, or have been ordered elsewhere.From what Captain Denham had said before he took his departure, she wasfully persuaded he would soon return; and it must be confessed, shelonged to ask him many questions. There were various doubts passingthrough her mind which she was anxious to have solved. She scarcely,however, would trust herself to speak of them even to Sophy. She wassoon to have her mind occupied with other cares.
Her father, who had never recovered the loss of his son, or his visit tothe West Indies, was now very evidently declining in health. He couldno longer follow the hounds, or ride out as before. He took little orno interest in public affairs. Even his neighbours he declined seeingwhen they called, though he seemed always glad to have a visit from MrJamieson or his blind niece. He held frequent conversations with thesteward about his affairs, which seemed greatly to trouble him. Atlength it was determined to send to Dublin to request the presence ofhis family lawyer, Mr Finlayson, who, though now an old man, wassufficiently hale to undertake the journey. He had, it appeared, as hadhis father before him, managed for many years the Kilfinnan property.
Nora willingly agreed to write to request his attendance, for she felt,that as he was a faithful friend of her father's, he would certainly bea comfort to him, and might also be able to suggest a means of placingthe property in a more satisfactory state than it was in at present.She thought nothing of herself; it scarcely occurred to her that she wasto become the heiress of it all. She knew that the title would becomeextinct at her father's death, but that caused her no regret. Shesupposed that her income would enable her and her cousin Sophy to liveas they had been accustomed. More she did not require.
Within a week Mr Patrick Finlayson arrived in a chaise from Dublin. Inthose days the journey was not performed as rapidly as at present, andthe dangers to be encountered were not a few. He was a small, neatlymade, active little man, with a clear complexion, which even hisadvanced age had scarcely succeeded in depriving of the hue of youth,though his hair was white as snow. His eyes were bright andintelligent, and his whole manner and appearance showed that he wasstill capable of a considerable amount of active exertion. His brownsuit, knee breeches, and silk stockings, were set off by brightlypolished steel buttons and diamond buckles. Having paid his respects tothe ladies of the family, and addressed Lady Nora in his usual easy,familiar style, which showed that he had from her earliest youth,claimed the honour of being one of her admirers and friends, he mademore especial inquiries about the Earl.
"You will see a great change in my father," said Nora, "but your comingwill, I feel sure, do him good. You know more about our affairs than wedo. I only hope things are not worse than he supposes, and if they are,I must ask you to conceal the truth from him; I am afraid it would dohim no good to make him aware of it, and would only deeply grieve him.I care not so much if I only am the sufferer."
"You need not be alarmed, my dear Lady Nora," answered the old man,taking her hand. "Things are not worse than the Earl supposes; on thecontrary, I have of late seen the importance of not allowing him tobelieve that they were improving as much as they have been. You know,probably, your good father's disposition, and are aware, that had hediscovered this, he would very quickly have launched out again into hisold habits of extravagance, which, however, from the sad account yougive of him, he is not now likely to do, and therefore I am prepared totell him the whole truth. Your affairs, Lady Nora, require nursing, Iwill confess to that, and careful management, but a few years of economywill, I hope, place them on a satisfactory footing."
"This is indeed pleasant news you bring us, Mr Finlayson, I own when Iheard that you had consented to come, that I feared things were ratherworse than better, but I am indeed very grateful to you for coming; youhave always been one of our truest friends, and I am sure at the presentmoment you will be a great comfort to my poor father. I will let theEarl know of your arrival, and I am sure he will be glad to see you atonce. During the last few days he has grown very much weaker, and hismedical attendant will not tell me what he thinks of his case. Hehimself speaks very willingly to our friend and neighbour, Mr Jamieson,who, when I ask him what he thinks, always looks very grave, andreplies, `that the lives of all of us are in God's hands, and that weshould be prepared to lose those we love at any moment.' This makes me,as you may suppose, extremely anxious."
While Lady Nora was speaking the old gentleman became very serious.
"I should like to see the Earl as soon as possible," he observed; "Ihave several matters of importance to consult him about, which I shouldnot like to put off until he becomes still weaker than you tell me he isat present. You will excuse me, Lady Nora, when I say I should like tobe alone with him for some time."
"O yes, sir," said Lady Nora; "I know that whatever you have to say tomy father you have the right to say to him; and I feel such perfectconfidence in you that I have no desire to pry into any secrets you mayhave with him."
Nora having left the lawyer, soon returned with the information, thatthe Earl was ready to receive him.
Mr Finlayson found the Earl sitting in an armchair, propped up withpillows, gazing out on the ocean, on whose blue and slightly ruffledwaves the sunbeams were playing brilliantly. The Earl smiled as his oldfriend entered, and held out his hand warmly to
him.
"Sit down, Finlayson; you have come at a sad moment. I feel a strangeweakness creeping over me, and I am glad that you have not longer putoff your visit. Yes, I believe the moment is approaching for which weall should be prepared, when I must leave this world. I wish I couldlook back to all I have done during my life with satisfaction; but Icannot say that I can do that. I have been hospitable and generous, Iown, according to the notion of people; but alas! Finlayson, for thepeasantry under my charge, for the multitudes of my poorer neighbours,how little have I done? I might have set them a better example; I mighthave obtained some education for them; and, perhaps, by going amongthem, restrained them from committing the excesses into which, from timeto time, they have plunged."
"Very true," answered the lawyer; "I believe there are very few peoplewho have not to say something like that, when they are about to leavethe world; but we must not think of what we have done or left undoneourselves. You believe in the simple Gospel; I am sure you do, or youwould have listened to Mr Jamieson's preaching, as I have often seenyou doing--in vain. We will speak of that by-and-by. I rather hopethat you think worse of your case than you should do. I do not hearthat the doctor is of the same opinion as you are, and so, my dear lord,there are certain points with regard to your property which I, as yourlegal adviser, would wish, in the first place, to discuss."
Mr Finlayson then entered into particulars, which it is not herenecessary to introduce.
The Earl seemed much relieved on hearing that his property was lessencumbered than he had supposed.
"But there is another point, my lord, on which I shall wish particularlyto consult you."
"Well, the sooner we speak on anything of importance the better,Finlayson. We know not what another day may bring forth," observed theEarl.
He already spoke with some difficulty.
"Well, my lord, at all events I should like to know your wishes on thesubject," said the lawyer. "Your lordship knows that your father had anelder brother."
"Yes," said the Earl, in a somewhat surprised tone.
"He was considerably older than your father," continued the lawyer. "Hewas a somewhat wild and extravagant man. Your lordship may possiblyremember that he engaged in one of the unhappy outbreaks of those days."
"Yes, yes," said the Earl hastily. "I heard that he became a rebelagainst his king and country."
"Well, my lord, you know many honourable men joined with him on thatoccasion."
"I fancy that he was found guilty of high-treason, was he not?" said theEarl.
"Yes," answered the lawyer. "An act of attainder was passed againsthim, by which he lost both title and property. Had it not been for theinterest of your father, it would have been lost to the familyaltogether; but, as he had always proved loyal, he was allowed toinherit the property in the place of his brother, for your grandfather,if you remember, was alive at the time."
"Yes; but of what consequence is that at the present day?" asked theEarl.
"I am coming to that, my lord," said Mr Finlayson. "Your uncle, itappeared, married and had a son and your father, who really loved hisbrother, being at that time a bachelor, petitioned the Government, thatin case of his death without an heir, his elder brother's guiltlesschild might succeed to the property, and regain the title of which hisfather had been deprived."
"Ah!" said the Earl, "I was not aware of that; but had this relative ofmine (this cousin I suppose I should call him) a son?"
"That for a long time was a matter of doubt," said the lawyer. "Itappeared, however, that he, when a young man, inherited many of hisfather's qualities, and was in all respects fully as wild andunmanageable as he had been, and he very soon, in consequence, broughthimself within power of the law."
"I hope he never committed any act unworthy of a gentleman or of hisname and family," said the Earl, with more animation than he hadhitherto shown. "At least I trust one of the last scions of our racebrought no disgrace on it."
"No, my lord," said the lawyer, smiling; "he was only guilty of thatgentlemanly act,--treason, having united himself with some of thoseunhappy people, who hoped to overthrow the authority of the Government.He became a United Irishman, and took part in the rebellion of thattime. He was at length committed to prison, and to my great dismay Ifound that he had been condemned to death."
"Did he retain his own name, or had he assumed another?" asked the Earl.
"He had some time before dropped his family name, and wisely too,considering the position in which he was placed," answered the lawyer."He had contrived, however, to make friends both within and outside thewalls of the prison, and by their means he managed to escape. A pricewas of course set upon his head, and it was generally supposed that hehad left the country. I thought so likewise for some time; but hisfather, who was then alive, had placed some sums of money in my hands,and empowered me to devote them to his assistance. I suppose hediscovered this, for after a short time I received a letter from him, bywhich he led me to understand that he was still in the country, but in aposition where it was not at all likely he would be discovered. He toldme, moreover, that he had no intention of leaving Ireland; that he hadlately married a young country girl, and was very happy in his presentposition. He praised his wife as a most beautiful creature, and saidthat in her society he hoped in future to remain quiet, and refrain fromany of the acts which had hitherto brought him into trouble. He hadtaken so many precautions that, notwithstanding all my exertions, Icould not find out where he was. Still he enabled me to remit the moneyhe required. I should have told you that when your father had made thearrangement which I have been describing, he bound over his nephew andhis son not to make any claim to the title, as long as an heir of hisown line existed. But should he have no male heir, then the eldest ofhis descendants was allowed to put in a claim for the title. Thisdocument, and other legal proofs of his identity, your cousin hadobtained possession of. He told me, I remember, in his letter, that heconsidered himself strictly bound to adhere to the agreement, and thatas for himself, he had no wish ever to claim the title which hadbelonged to his ancestors; that he had sufficient to satisfy his wants;that he was tired of ambition; and that he was perfectly content to lethis country go on in its present condition, without interfering inpolitics. I replied that his resolution was a wise one, and undertookwhenever he desired to have the money forwarded to him, to send itimmediately. I of course did my best to try and discover where he wasand whom he had married. Once or twice I was very near succeeding. Itraced him to two or three places, but at length I entirely lost allclue to him. I suspect he was aware I was endeavouring to discover him,and thus, as he had already had much practice in playing the game ofhide-and-seek, he was able completely to evade me."
"That is a strange story you have told me," said the Earl; "I hadforgotten many of the circumstances to which you allude. Alas! as longas my own boy lived it was a matter of no consequence. I felt very surethat my own patent was secure, and that he would inherit my title andestates; but now it seems that through this curious arrangement of myfather, matters have altered; but surely should an heir appear, he couldnot deprive my daughter of Kilfinnan Castle, and the estates whichbelong to it."
"In the unlikely event of a claimant establishing his right to theearldom, he would also inherit the Kilfinnan estates," answered thelawyer; "but you will remember there are the estates in Derry, whichwere formerly separated from the Kilfinnan property, and according tothe arrangements made by the late Earl, they become the heritage of thefemales should there be no son to succeed. Thus Lady Nora will at allevents retain the Derry estates, even though it may turn out that yourlong-missing cousin has left a son to inherit the title and Kilfinnanproperty."
The Earl sighed deeply.
"It matters very little to myself. My dear Nora has no ambition, and asher tastes are simple, she will be perfectly content with the Derryestates, where she will, I feel sure, devote herself to the care of thesurrounding peasantry, and will avoid those ext
ravagances which wouldinjure her property, as alas! I have done."
The lawyer sat for some time longer with his friend, but the Earl atlength, observing that he felt very faint, desired that his doctor, whowas in the house, might be sent for. The man of medicine soon appeared,and feeling the Earl's pulse instantly administered restoratives. In ashort time the Earl rallied, and desired that Lady Nora and his niecemight be sent for. They came and sat with him for nearly an hour, whenhe begged that they would retire to their rooms, assuring them that hefelt much better, and that he hoped the following day he should havemore conversation with Mr Finlayson on the matters of business which hewished to discuss with him.